White Beans and Ham

I remember my mother making white beans and ham anytime there was a leftover ham hock from a holiday meal. That soup had a stick-to-your-ribs level of heartiness that has remained unmatched, in my eyes, to this day. She’d simmer a pot of Great Northern white beans with the ham hock until the beans had gotten all creamy and thick; little bits of ham dotted throughout. She’d serve it with cornbread and we’d all gobble it down. My dad recently lamented (7 years post-divorce) that he still hadn’t been able to get it replicated in his own kitchen.

I will admit that it may be an acquired taste for some. It literally consisted of nothing besides a ham hock, beans, salt and water. While I appreciate the simplicity of the dish – and no one can deny how filling and economical it was for feeding a family of 5 on a budget – I wanted to add some more vegetables into my version. I’m trying to limit my meat consumption as much as possible while adding in as many vegetables as I can, in an effort to finally meet those 5 or more servings per day recommendations. Plus, adding a mirepoix isn’t that expensive and adds a ton of flavor and nutrients into the finished soup.

I had a ham hock left over from Christmas dinner, from the ham I bought from Copper Penny Farm. It was a beauteous thing, marbled with fat and loaded with flavor. It’s easy to forget how delicious ham is when it comes from a pig that’s raised properly and isn’t one of those commercially hybridized, Smithfield-patented abominations with a 2% fat content. Seriously, check out LocalHarvest.org and find where you can get a locally grown ham for your next holiday meal. It’s worth it.

Click to read more ...

Cajun Jambalaya

Fat Tuesday is fast approaching and with it the requirement to enjoy true N’awlins style cuisine. Years and years ago I worked at a casino and made friends with a nice guy who’d just moved to the Seattle area from Louisiana. One of his hobbies was sharing his Southern food with us “Yanks.” He’d set up a booth at local festivals and dish out dirty rice, red beans, and jambalaya in Styrofoam clamshells with a healthy sprinkling of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning – the only true Creole seasoning according to that Southern boy.

His jambalaya recipe was my first foray into the intriguing world of Cajun and Creole cooking, a style of cooking so rich in history and tradition you can’t help but be sucked into it. I’ve never looked back.

This is a Cajun style jambalaya, that is sans tomatoes. It relies on the browned sausage and chicken to deepen the flavor and a precise ratio of liquid to rice to get the final dish perfectly fluffy instead of soupy like its Creole cousin.

When you’re browning the sausage and chicken, really give it a chance to let the Maillard reaction take place – this is where you get that nice brown crust and those lovely little browned bits that stick to the bottom of the pot, also known as “the fond.” It’s this browning reaction that creates the nice deep flavor we crave in so many Southern dishes. Use a little oil in the pan, and try not to use a nonstick pan if you can. It will still work with nonstick pan, just not quite as well in my experience.

Really give the meat a few minutes to cook – don’t go fiddling around with it, pushing it around. If you give it a little nudge with your cooking utensil and it doesn’t want to move, listen. Leave it alone for a little while longer and it will be ready to give way – that’s when you know the browning reaction has taken place.

Also, make sure you don’t crowd the pan too much. If there isn’t enough room around each piece of meat for the water to evaporate, you’re going to end up with steamed sausage and chicken – not browned.

Click to read more ...

Boone Tavern

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

We just got back from visiting some of TA's family in Kentucky for Christmas, and while I was there my sMiL, B, introduced me to the historic Boone Tavern in Berea, KY.

The small town of Berea is well known for its local artisans and the Berea College - the home of the Boone Tavern. It was built in the early 20th century to house guests of the college and was named after Daniel Boone. The hotel was built with bricks made by students in the Berea College brickyard and is still staffed by nearly 80% students to this day.

The hotel, restaurant, and gift shop is on the National Register of Historic Places and just underwent an extensive (nearly $10 million) renovation with the intent of becoming LEED certified.

B is actually an alumnus of Berea College and was kind enough to share stories of her time on campus and of working in the Boone Tavern gift shop. We had lunch in the Bowling Dining Room and were graced with a lovely server named Ricara [sic]. She gave us the best service I've had in a very, very long time. If I could've boxed her up and taken her home with me I would've tried.

Click to read more ...

Fried Green Tomatoes with Spicy Bacon Dip

It's not very often that I get to check out my food while it's still on the vine. Being able to do so was pretty cool. Of course, I imagine there could be better ways to appreciate a sexy tomato still on the vine than deciding to batter it and pan fry it in bacon grease - but why bother?

Click to read more ...

Red Beans and Rice

When TA and I stopped in New Orleans on our cross country trek I finally tried red beans and rice for the first time.

It was out of this world delicious.

How has more soul food not made it to the Pacific Northwest? I feel like I've missed out on such a diverse cuisine by not experimenting more with the various regional 'delicacies' present in my own country.

Click to read more ...